Red Torpedo is the name of two fictional characters, one originally published by Quality Comics and another currently owned by DC Comics. The original is a superhero named Jim Lockhart while the second is an android created T. O. Morrow. Jim Lockhart debuted in Crack Comics #1.
Jim Lockhart was a navy captain until he retired in 1940. Unable to settle down, he began building a one-man submarine known as "The Red Torpedo." Using the devices on board, he became the peacekeeper of the seas, the Robin Hood of the deep. His run as a hero for Quality comics consisted of Crack Comics 1–20. His most common enemy was the Black Shark, a pirate in scuba gear. He discovered the Atlantean city of Merezonia and its Mermazon population, he later fell in love with its ruler, his former nemesis, Queen Klitra. Hours before the attack on Pearl Harbor, Red Torpedo was recruited by Uncle Sam to join the Freedom Fighters in defending the base. He fell with the other heroes and was left for dead. Later, it was revealed that he was not dead, but he did retire after this. Red Torpedo was seen aiding the Starman of 1951 in building his spaceship, The Flying Star. He was most recently seen as one of the administrators of Windward Home in , along with Elsa Magnusson, widow of Mark Merlin.
Android
A new female android Red Torpedo debuted in Red Tornado #1. This Red Torpedo was revealed to be the first elemental android created by T. O. Morrow during the days of the Soviet Union, years before the conception of the Red Tornado. But much like her younger "sibling" the Tornado, the Torpedo rebelled against Morrow's control and he deactivated her, hiding her inside the sunken wreck of a battleship in the waters of Pearl Harbor as a type of sick joke. The Torpedo spent years inside the ship when she managed to send out a beacon to the Tornado and her two other "siblings", the Red Volcano and the Red Inferno. She is eventually found and reactivated by the Tornado, and while she readjusts to the world, she informs the Tornado about the existence of the other two elementals and the Red Volcano's cruelty. At the same time, the Tornado is having a hard time keeping the Torpedo in check, as she exhibits somewhat more lethal methods, although she claims that she doesn't intend to kill people when she tries to defend herself.
In other media
Both characters were adapted for the Young Justice episode "Humanity" voiced by Jeff Bennett. For the episode, Jim Lockheart was used as the "human" identity of Morrow's first android, although his power remained hydrokinesis. This carried through to the android appearing male rather than female. This version of Red Torpedo is presumed to have died by immersion in lava, alongside Red Inferno, in order for them to destroy Red Volcano.
